So. It's 2013 - do you know who you are? And I mean that in the deepest, most philosophical sense, of course. It's a question that we are asked from the time we are very little: "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Invariably, our answers change over the years. Sometimes from year to year, sometimes from minute to minute. And sometimes, people are still struggling to answer that question well into adulthood.
My favorite author, Diana Gabaldon, got me thinking about this years ago, with a conversation between two characters in her book Voyager (the 3rd book of the Outlander series). When Claire explains to Roger why she went to medical school, she says, "It wasn't so much that I suddenly decided I must become a doctor--it was just that I suddenly realized one day that I'd been one for a long time--and then I wasn't, and I missed it. ... I'd been a doctor in every way that there is--I'd delivered babies, set bones, stitched wounds, treated fevers . . . There was a terrible lot I didn't know, of course. I knew how much I could learn--and that's why I went to medical school. But it didn't really make a difference, you know. I have a diploma with an M.D. on it--but I was a doctor long before I set foot in medical school."
'Tis a rare thing, I believe--to have that bone-deep knowledge of who you are and what you are; to be able to meld your vocation into your occupation so that they are one and the same. Isn't that the ultimate dream - to be able to make your living doing what you love most? Or what you're best at? How many people identify themselves by their career, but can honestly say that it is their "calling"?
And so, having already established that I've always thought of myself as a writer, it occurred to me recently that, at some point, a doctor in medical school must decide on a specialty. That is to say, I should probably consider which genre I would like to associate myself with. And there's a lot to choose from.
Just think of how many shelves there are in a bookstore and how many times you've gotten lost in Barnes and Noble. It boggles the mind. Mystery, romance, sci-fi, children's, YA, biography, nonfiction, etc. The list continues forever. So, what shelf will my book(s) be on?
As a member of the Yahoo! Contributor Network, I am now the proud author of two published short stories. And it honestly didn't occur to me until I was ready to publish the second one that they are both ghost stories! Hmm. Did I just find my niche?
I admit, I'm a sucker for a good ghost story. Not the horror/slasher kind, but the suspenseful, mysterious kind. And if it has a shocking plot twist, O. Henry-style, all the better. If you've ever seen The Others, starring Nicole Kidman, you know the kind of story I'm talking about. It left me sitting there with my jaw hanging open, saying, "No way!" in a slow Bill-and-Ted kind of voice. It's the kind of story I wish I had thought of.
So, back to the million dollar question. What to write about? Thankfully, I've already identified some areas to cross off the list. Journalism, marketing, and academic writing are all pretty much a no-go. How-to books, like parenting and home organization? Nope. Gardening or cooking? My husband would laugh. I have a feeling that question will answer itself as I write. For now, it's enough to know that my heart lies in the world of fiction, where the imagination and the art of storytelling blend together to fill the senses in a delightful--or soul-moving--way using the infinite power of words. No matter what genre, I want to write stuff that, when people are finished reading it, they will consider it time well-spent. But if I had to make predictions, I would guess that my books will probably be found on a shelf somewhere in the general vicinity of the sections in the bookstore that I have always loitered in the most.
Today's title comes from a catchy, but kind of bizarre song, with lyrics that only make sense in the context of this blog post, 25 years after the fact...
What I Am -- Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians
# of proofreads: 20
# of edits: 31
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